Feather-renovator



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. B. DOOLITTLE. FEATHER RENOVATOR.

No. 355,151. Patented De0. 28, 1886.

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Patented Dec. 28, 1886..

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet s.

H. B; DOOLITTLE.

FEATHER RENOVATOR.

No. 355,151. Patented D60 28, 1886."

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4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

I '(No Model.)

H. B. DOOLITTLE.

' FEATHER RENOVATOR. No. 355,151. Patented Dec. 28., 18 86.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

HENRY- BLAOK DOOLITTLE, OF DOOLITTLES MILLS, INDIANA.

FEATHEIR-QRENJOVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,151, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed J nne 23, 1886. Serial No. 206,021. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY BLACK Doo- LITTLE, a citizen of the United States, residing atDoolittles Mills, in the county of Perry and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feather-Renovators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in feather-renovators; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, andparticularlypointed outin theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a feather-renovator embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view ,of the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of my invention. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view.

A represents an inclosing rectangular case, which is provided With the curved ends B and C. At the front curved end, B, of the case, in the upper side thereof, is provided a hinged door, D, and at the rear curved end of the case, at the lower side thereof, is a similar hinged door, E. This case is lined on the inner side with tin or other suitable sheet metal.

In the upper side of the case, and just in rear of the door I), is a transverse hinged door,

F, and the opening closed by the said door is covered with wiregauze G. Another opening, H, is made in the top of the frame, near the rear end thereof, and from the rear side of the upper portion of the frame or case A extends a horizontal open frame, I, which is covered with wire-gauze K. In the upper portion of the case A, in rear of the opening F, is atrans-v verse slot, L, through which extends a vertical board, M, the sides of which work in vertical grooves N, that are made in the inner sides of the case. The said grooves form guideways for the said board. To the lower edge of the board M is securedthe front end of a horizontal board, 0, which extends rearwardly in the upper side of the case, to the rear wall thereof. The board M serves to guide the board 0, and to close the front end of the space above the board 0 when the latter is lowered. The board 0 is provided with an opening, P, which is covered with wire-gauze 1?, and a cover, S, is also provided for the said opening when it is desired to close the same.

In the sides of the case A, at the center thereof, are made a pair of longitudinal horizontal slots, T, which extend nearly from end to end in the case. In the said slots is located a transverse shaft, U, the ends of which project beyond the sides of the case and are provided with spurpinions U. The extreme outer ends of the said shaft are squared, and thereby adapted to fit a crank-handle. To the central portion of the shaft, between the sides of the case, is attached a rotary fan or blower, V, the wings of which extend nearly from one side of the case to the other. end walls of the case extend rods W, which are provided at their outer ends with coiled =-springs W and nuts, which are screwed on Through the I In the sides of the case, at the front end and are covered by means of pivoted slides,

X, whereby the said openingsmay be closed either entirely or to any desired extent.

Yrepresents apair of slide-bars,which cover the outer sides of the slots T, and are guided in keepers A, which are secured to the outer side of the case. The lower edges of the slidebars bear upon the upper sides of anti-friction rollers Y, which are journaled to the outer sides of the case. The shaft U is journaled to the slide-bars Y.

To the sides of the case, above the slots T, are secured horizontal rack-bars Z, the length of which is somewhat less than that of the slots T, the teeth of the said rack-bars Joeing formed on their lower edges, and thereby I adapted to engage the pinions U.

a represents spur-wheels, which are j ournaled to the outer sides of the case A, and are located at the ends of the rack-bars Z and bear upon the outer sides of the said bars. The said wheels to are adapted to engage the pinions U of the blower when the latter is moved to either end of the case, and the pinions are beyond the ends of and out'of engagement with the rack-bars Z. Each of the said wheels to, at one end of the case, is provided with a squared shank or spindle,b, adapted to receive a crank.

0 represents a series of gravity-dogs, which nor mally engage the inner edges of the wheels a, the lower ends of the said dogs being pivoted to the outer sides of the rack-bars. From this construction it will be readily understood that while the dogs are in engagement with the spur-wheels the latter may be rotated only in one direction.

On the upper side of the case A, at the sides thereof, and extending past the ends of the opening H, are flanges or brackets d,in which are journaled a pair of transverse shafts,e and The shaft eis provided with a pair of dru ms, 6, and the shaft f is also provided with a pair of drums, f. To one of these drums is attached a circular ratchet-plate, The ends of the shaft f project beyond the sides of the cise,and are provided with small drums h, and the extreme outer end of the said shaft at one side of the case is provided with a crank-handle, h. An endless belt, 1;, connects one of the drums e and one of the drums f, and cords k pass through vertical openings which .are made in the top of the case, and have their lower ends attached to the board 0 and their upper ends attached to the drums e and f,

whereby the said board 0 may be raised or lowered in the case by rotating the crank-handle h, as will be very readily understood. A gravity-detent, l, is pivoted on the upper side of the case A, and engages the ratchet-plate 9, thus preventing the shaft f from rotating when it is desired to support the board 0 at any particular vertical adjustment. Theupper side of the case A, above the slots T, is removable from the lower portion of the case, and is con nected thereto by means of dowel-pins m,which project from the lower edges of the upper portion of the case and enter vertical recesses made in the upper edges of the lower portion of the case.

n represents a rock-shaft, which is journaled on the upper side of a portion of the case, near the front end thereof, and has its ends bent to form the upwardly-extending arms a and the rearwardly and downwardly extending curved arms n. The said latter arms are connected to the dogs 0 near the front end of the case by means of pins 0, which extend from the inner side of the said dogs, and cords 0 connect the arms n with the drums h on the shaft f.

To the upper ends of the arms n are attached rods n", the lower front ends of which are secured to the front ends of the upper section of the case by means of keepers n. The lower ends of the said rods of are adapted to enter openings y, which are made on the upper sides of the slide-bars Y at a distance from the outer end thereof.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The feathers to be renovated are placed in the case A through the opening covered by the door D, and the board 0 is raised, the doors D and E are closed, and the door '1? opened, and a quantity of live steam is admitted to the case A through the opening a from any suitable source. A blower, V, which is normally secured at the front end of the case, is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, causing the teeth of its pinions U to engage the teeth of the rack-bar Z, and thereby move the slide-bars Y longitudinally, and cause them to carry the blower or agitator longitudinally through the case while'the said blower or agitator is being rotated. The rotation of the said blower or agitator causes. the feathers to be thoroughly stirred and shaken, thus'dislodging the particles of dirt from the feathers and subjecting them to the renovating action of the live steam. When the shaft U reaches the rear ends of the slots T, it becomes engaged by the hook-bolts and secured in the rear ends of the slots, the pinions of the said shaft being then in engagement with the spur-wheels near the rear end of the case. This permits the blower or agitator to be rotated without being moved longitudinally in the case, to enable the said agitator or blower to eject the feathers from the case through the opening E. Before ejecting the feathers from the case, however, the blower or agitator is moved to the front ends of the slots '1, and is secured by the hook-bolts at the front end of the case, the pinions of the said blower or agitator being then in engagement with the spurwheels at the front end of the case. A crank is then attached to one of the spur-wheels, and is rotated thereby, thus imparting rapid r tation to the blower. The supply of steam is cut off, and the board 0 is lowered in the upper portion of the case, thus narrowing and reducing the sides of the compartment formed in the case below the board 0, and correspondingly increasing the strength of the blast from the blower by reducing the size of the passage through which the said blast is directed. The slides X at the front sides of the case are opened, thus permitting access of air to the blower, and the latter is rotated, as before described, thereby creating a draft of air in the case, which expels the moisture therefrom and dries the feathers. The openings in the case, with the exception of the door F, are closed while the feathers are being dried, and the moisture from the feathers escapes with the air through the gauze G in the doorway F. When the feathers have been sufficiently dried, the door F is closed and the opening E at the rear side of the case is opened, thus causing the current of air to pass out with considerable force through the said openings and carry the feathers with it, thus expelling them from the case. In order to prevent the feathers from being blown about after they leave the case and scattered, I attach an apron or hood, 2, to the extended frame I. This apron or hood serves to direct the feathers into a suitable receptacle placed at the discharge end of.

in the lower side thereof. An opening, A, communicates with one end of this chamber to admit steam into the same, so as to heat the plate, and thereby hasten the evaporation from the feathers after the renovating-steam has been cut off from them. At one end of the chamber A, at the discharge end of the case, is a removable screen, A the space under the said screen forming a chamber, A. The function of this screen and chamber is to collect the dust and dirt that fall from the feathers While they are being renovated. By making the screen A removable, the dirt may be readily taken from the chamber when it gets filled.

Having thus described my invention, I claim '1. The combination, in a feather-renovator, of the ease having the slots T, the rotary agitator having its shaft journaled in the said slots, the'said blower being movable longitudinally in the case, and the hooked rods to engage the shaft of the agitator at each end of the slots, for the purpose set forth,.substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a feather-renovator, of the case A, having the longitudinal slots T, the rack-bars, and the spur-wheels located at the ends of the said bars, with the rotary agitator having its shaft journaled in the slots T, and provided with gear-wheels adapted to mesh with the rack-bars and spur-Wheels of the case, substantially as described.

' 3. In a feather-renovator, the combination of the case having the inlet and discharge openings and the vertical guideways n inits sides, the agitator, and the vertically-movable horizontal board 0, having the vertical end board M, working in the guideways N, for the purpose set forth, substantially as described o 4. The combination, in a feather-renovator, 0f the" case having the inlet and discharge openings, the agitator for creating a current of air in the case, the'board 0, located in the case, and means for raising and lowering the the spur-wheels at the ends of the rack-bars,

and the detent or dogs engaging the said spurwheels, with the rotary agitator having its shaft journaled in the slots T, and the pinions to mesh with the rack -'bars and the spur-' wheels, for the purpose set forth, and means,

substantially as described, for tripping the dogs and disengaging them from the spur- Wheels, substantially as described.

6. In a feather-renovator, agitator movable longitudinally in the case, in combination with rack-bars geared to the agitator-shaft and adapted to move the same, and means, such as hook-bolts, to hold the agitator-shaft from movement when desired, as set forth.

In testimony that I claimlthe foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY BLACK DOOLITTLE.

Witnesses:

(1W. BOWERS, N. O. KELSO. 

